1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for preventing the accumulation of water in exterior areas such as basement window wells, from rain or melted snow. Recessed basement window wells are common in homes and other buildings in which the basement window extends below ground level and therefore is enclosed within a retaining wall which retains the soil to form a well area which extends below the lower level of the window frame opening. Frequently the well area is filled with stones, up to the lower level of the window frame opening, to form a dry well which assists the gravity drainage of water downwardly away from the window.
It is also common to cover window wells with clear plastic domes or covers which prevent the direct deposit of rain or snow within basement window wells. While such covers are effective for their intended purpose, they have no effect upon the migration of ground water run-off, which is the main cause of window well flooding.
Excess water accumulation or flooding of basement window wells can lead to seepage of the exterior water around and through the interface of the window and its frame, and through cracks between the frame and the foundation which are common in the area of basement windows.
2. State of the Art
It is known to prevent the accumulation of water in exterior basement window wells by means of a drain pipe system having an upper horizontal pipe section which extends from the basement, through a bore in the foundation out into a dry well within the window well. The horizontal pipe section is integral with a vertical pipe section within the basement, spaced from the interior basement wall, which drains through a hole in the basement floor.
Such system requires the existence of a sub-floor drainage system or else the water may not be able to drain through the existing soil under the floor.
An important disadvantage is that the piping extending within the basement is obtrusive, unsightly and interferes with the finishing of the basement wall and floor.
Another known system for preventing water accumulation within basement window wells, aimed at avoiding the problems of piping extending into the basement as discussed above, comprises a similar upper horizontal pipe section which extends through the foundation into the dry well of a window well area and opens at the interior surface of the basement wall to permit water to drain from the exterior well, through the wall and down the interior surface of the basement wall into a horizontal baseboard water drainage system of the type disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,842 (DRYTRAK) or U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,044 (WATERGUARD). The area of the entry and vertical flow of the water down over the interior surface of the basement wall is covered by a flat plastic sheet which extends from the lower level of the window frame down into the baseboard water drainage system and is attached against the interior surface of the basement wall to enclose the water path.
While such systems can be concealed during the finishing of the basement walls, they are unsightly in an unfinished basement and, because they comprise a flat plastic sheet mounted flat on the interior basement wall they substantially restrict and limit the entry and flow of water to a degree that flooding can occur at times of excessive ground water conditions.